7/7/26

Jay C Brandriet

My love for the NBA and lists like this began in the mid 1980’s.

I’ll attempt to give respect to those old school greats I didn’t see in real time.

Instead of rating the ABA directly, I’ll give the league its due when considering those that also played in the NBA.

Anytime you compare athletes who didn’t face each other, or played in vastly different eras, you’re walking a tight rope.

In ranking players, we use things we feel are formulas.

Players level compared to peers of their era.

Contributions to winning.

Eye test.

Stats and accomplishments.

Longevity.

Peak performance.

Most of all?

Our best GUESSES disguised as opinions.

THE ELITE FEW

To rank 150 guys, is naming about 3% of those that have played.

The number of spectacular names I’m leaving out is agonizing.

Here were the hardest 15 to cut.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

RALPH SAMPSON

BUCK WILLIAMS

MARK AGUIRE

BRAD DAUGHERTY

LARRY JOHNSON

NEIL JOHNSTON

TOM HEINSOHN

BILL SHARMAN

METTA WORLD PEACE

YAO MING

MAURICE LUCAS

GUS WILLIAMS

DEMARCUS COUSINS

CONNIE HAWKINS

DAVID THOMPSON

MY 150 GREATEST NBA PLAYERS OF ALL TIME

#150- JACK SIKMA

Give me a center who knocked down 92.2% of his free throws in a season (1987-88).

#149- JAMAL MURRAY

If his shot is difficult or off balance, the more I trust it to go in.

#148- KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS

Winning a title, makes lifetime averages of 23/11 on 52/40/84% shooting matter more.

#147- RAJON RONDO

One of the sharpest basketball brains.

#146- CADE CUNNINGHAM

The future will have my back for including him.

#145- TYRESE HALIBURTON

Selfless, low turnover, big shot maker.

#144- TERRY CUMMINGS

Grown man strength. 22/9 over his first 8 seasons.

#143- JOE JOHNSON

“Iso Joe” delivered 8 buzzer beaters.

#142- STEPHON MARBURY

Marbury was a highly criticized baller. I know this because I was constantly sticking up for him. I could have gone Sprewell here but am in Marbury’s corner again.

#141- BAM ADEBAYO

I said to Jon Brown, “I’d like to find something to justify getting Bam at the back end of my top 150.” Two days later he scored 83 points.

#140- BLAKE GRIFFIN

More known for jumping over vehicles, Blake was a good point forward.

#139- DERON WILLIAMS

The appreciation comes from seeing Deron (and teammate Boozer) play 100 plus times in person.

#138- LARRY NANCE

Vicious 6’10” shot blocker was the NBAs first dunk champ.

#137- DAVE BING

First guard to top the league in scoring in 20 years.

#136- SAM CASSELL

Sam was invited to the All-Star game once. That’s about 4 invitations short of what he deserved.

#135- LENNY WILKENS

Wilkens was runner up for MVP in 1967-68.

#134- BOBBY JONES

In total, All Defense 11 times.

#133- DERRICK ROSE

The short window of heart and greatness left fans fond of Rose.

#132- SHAWN MARION

A Swiss Army knife in his time. Quick second jump.

#131- PAUL ARIZIN

Missed 2 years of his prime serving in the U.S. Marines.

#130- MITCH RICHMOND

Over his first decade, lowest scoring season was 21.9 a night.

#129- JERRY LUCAS

Nickname was “The Computer.”

#128- LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE

Quiet, consistent, 5-time All-NBA selection. That high release was nice.

#127- RASHEED WALLACE

For how unguardable Sheed was, I thought he played a little too humble on offense.

#126- DEMAR DEROZAN

A mid-range master who hit game winning threes on consecutive nights at the buzzer.

#125- JRUE HOLIDAY

One of the prolific stoppers of all time. Jrue found time to put up 19.2 points over a 6-year stretch.

#124- BOB DANDRIDGE

Third best player on 1971 and 1978 squads that won it all.

#123- SPENCER HAYWOOD

Rookie of the Year and ABA MVP to begin a career.

#122- SIDNEY MONCRIEF

Won the first 2 DPOY awards.

#121- GEORGE MCGINNIS

Nicknames like “Baby Bull” and “McGinnis the Magnificent” remind us he was the entire package.

#120- KEVIN LOVE

I’ll never forget his wobbly, effective effort on Curry to close out the 2016 Finals.

#119- RUDY GOBERT

Rudy is the most disrespected NBA player of the 21st century.

#118- JERMAINE O’NEAL

Chose him by an inch over Elton Brand.

#117- WALT BELLAMY

Only 9 have 20,000 points and 14,000 rebounds.

#116- JO JO WHITE

The Boston Celtics will win this list.

#115- DONOVAN MITCHELL

“Spida” has the 7th highest scoring average (27.8) in playoff history.

#114- BEN WALLACE

Shortest player (6’9″) to lead the league in blocks.

#113- DAN ISSEL

Excellent counting stats and an ABA champion.

#112- CHAUNCEY BILLUPS

Participated in the Conference Finals in 7 straight seasons.

#111- ANFERNEE HARDAWAY

While in Orlando, we described Penny like, “he’s a 6’7″ Magic, with hops.”

#110- EARL MONROE

“The Pearl” could control the ball like a yo yo.

#109- AMAR’E STOUDEMIRE

At the end of his third year, I thought Amar’e hit “top 4 player” level.

#108- BILLY CUNNINGHAM

The explosive Kangaroo Kid.

#107- MARK PRICE

“Price was a fast white boy. Split the double team. Passed the ball. Shoot the rock in your face. Knew how to play the game. Mark Price was a bad mother F*****!” (Tim Hardaway)

#106- KEVIN JOHNSON

In 105 playoff outings, KJ put up 19/9.

#105- VICTOR WEMBANYAMA

A 22-year-old Alien whose aim is to become the G.O.A.T.

#104- TIM HARDAWAY

The killer crossover.

#103- DAVE DEBUSSCHERE

Tenacious defender for NBA champions, who appeared in 36 Major League Baseball games.

#102- DRAYMOND GREEN

An elite defensive engine. On offense, Draymond is THE perfect R2-D2 for Steph.

#101- ANTHONY EDWARDS

Electric star, trying to get his bite of the apple.

#100- SHAWN KEMP

The first man child I remember in the league.

#99- DEVIN BOOKER

One of the most polished bucket getters we will see.

#98- JAYLEN BROWN

Brown plays aggressive and fearless. Age 29 and has 142 playoff games under his belt.

#97- NATE THURMOND

Nate was hidden behind more famous trees.

#96- PETE MARAVICH

An icon in the beautiful, flashy part of basketball.

#95- BOB LANIER

Lanier had size 18.5 shoes and was a charitable man.

#94- CHRIS MULLIN

Mullin’s shooting range and vision were sick.

#93- TINY ARCHIBALD

His achievement of leading the league in scoring and assists in the same season, is 53 years old.

#92- BERNARD KING

He would just swoop to the hoop!

#91- DIKEMBE MUTOMBO

Mutombo’s finger wag has lived on in pop culture.

#90- ROBERT PARISH

Stoic, steady, winner.

#89- ARTIS GILMORE

Shot 59.9% from the field.

#88- WES UNSELD

Hard to move around. Unseld was an outlet passing weapon.

#87- ALEX ENGLISH

Smooth and subtle to the tune of most points in the 1980’s.

#86- PAUL GEORGE

Resume and on court ability are well rounded.

#85- ADRIAN DANTLEY

At 6’5″, Dantley lived in the paint.

#84- TONY PARKER

The quickness and that two-legged floater.

#83- MANU GINOBILI

Showtime mixed with grit.

#82- CHRIS BOSH

Bosh goes 24/11 the year before joining the Heat.

#81- BILL WALTON

The book is short, full of crazy success.

#80- JOE DUMARS

We would all trust Joe if he was part of our favorite franchise. He was the likeable “Bad Boy.”

#79- KLAY THOMPSON

Catch and shoot royalty.

#78- VINCE CARTER

I appreciated how this high flyer aged into a quality role player.

#77- CARMELO ANTHONY

Mid-post butter in the Olympics.

#76- DENNIS JOHNSON

Magic Johnson said nobody checked him better than DJ.

#75- DOLPH SCHAYES

12 time All-NBA.

#74- ALONZO MOURNING

Every time I interviewed Zo, he was cutting his toenails.

#73- CHRIS WEBBER

Fans underestimate his peak performance. Sweet hands.

#72- PAU GASOL

Gasol was never soft!

#71- DENNIS RODMAN

Rodman’s energy had a palpable effect on home and road crowds.

#70- JIMMY BUTLER

Check out the movie Office Christmas Party. Jimmy’s a stud.

#69- GRANT HILL

I saw enough healthy Hill to believe.

#68- SAM JONES

Clutch maestro.

#67- DAMIAN LILLARD

Dame works out across the street from my house. Just saying.

#66- JOEL EMBIID

Awesome upside with hurdles to get over.

#65- REGGIE MILLER

Off ball assasin who thrived in pressure moments.

#64- RAY ALLEN

Ray took his shooting routines serious. I would arrive 3 hours early just to watch him warm up.

#63- JALEN BRUNSON

Welcome to a major all-time ranking sir!

#62- DAVE COWENS

19/14 in post season career.

#61- HAL GREER

Leading playoff scorer on a title team with Wilt.

#60- JAYSON TATUM

Established marquee player, ready for a reboot.

#59- DOMINIQUE WILIKINS

When Nique didn’t make the original “top 50” in 1996, it was a giant talking point among his peers and fans everywhere.

#58- JAMES WORTHY

That first step, and those tricky spins. Worthy was deadly on the fast break.

#57- TRACY MCGRADY

Young T-Mac reminded me of like “Kobe East coast.”

#56- KYRIE IRVING

Traits and important shots made? Kyrie is him.

#55- KEVIN MCHALE

Footwork and post moves so lethal Kevin was called “The Torture Chamber.”

#54- DWIGHT HOWARD

Lacked credit while active. Five-time rebounding champion.

#53- WILLIS REED

A classic walk out of the tunnel, and 2 Finals MVPs.

#52- GEORGE GERVIN

Touch. Fluidity. Destroyed double teams.

#51- ANTHONY DAVIS

A rim protector with bounce and agility. Comes included with some guard skills.

#50- GEORGE MIKAN

Do I think he would get smoked by Glen Rice, Michael Finley or Gilbert Arenas? Yes. I’m recognizing the pro games first superstar.

#49- BOB MCADOO

Innovative big man who averaged 34.5 points the year I was born.

#48- LUKA DONCIC

The honeymoon is over for this prodigy.

#47- GARY PAYTON

We don’t talk about GP as a playmaker. He went 11 straight years with 7 plus dimes.

#46- PAUL PIERCE

Paul would say I have him about 43 spots too low.

#45- ELVIN HAYES

Missed 9 contests in 16 years.

#44- RUSSELL WESTBROOK

MJ and Kobe were drawn to the fierce nature of Russ.

#43- BOB COUSY

Hard to quantify such important impact.

#42- ALLEN IVERSON

“Iverson is a step and half quicker than I was, in my prime.” (Maurice Cheeks)

#41- CLYDE DREXLER

Drexler was coming down hill and putting pressure on the rim.

#40- RICK BARRY

Excelled at the jump pass and hit 90% of his free throws shooting like a grandma.

#39- BOB PETTIT

Names like this are fading. Notice them now.

#38- PATRICK EWING

A brute defender with a nasty face up, turnaround jumper.

#37- JAMES HARDEN

A legend, with too many playoff hangovers.

#36- SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER

Nobody is talking about the tightest handle ever at 6’6″. You’re talking about flopping?

#35- WALT FRAZIER

Led his Knicks with style and defensive prowess.

#34- STEVE NASH

A degree of difficulty shot maker who was 50/40/90 for a decade.

#33- JASON KIDD

Pushing the pace on O. Maybe the best guard on D.

#32- SCOTTIE PIPPEN

Underrated when he was playing in Jordan’s shadow. Overrated now, so LeBron fans can reduce MJ.

#31- KAWHI LEONARD

The 2 best versions of Kawhi got injured on deep playoff runs. I still rank him this high.

#30- JOHN STOCKTON

John’s decision making was so sound, it changed how I watched the sport.

#29- ELGIN BAYLOR

His 61 Finals points remains a record.

#28- ISIAH THOMAS

Zeke competed and entertained as if he was extra aware he was on stage.

#27- JOHN HAVLICEK

“Hondo” was an NFL draft pick. The guy was no joke.

#26- CHRIS PAUL

Led the Association in steals 6 times.

#25- CHARLES BARKLEY

I’m glad young people today have YouTube.

#24- MOSES MALONE

2,133 more offensive rebounds than second place.

#23- DWYANE WADE

He had me at hello.

#22- DIRK NOWITZKI

Dirk helped reshape and grow the game.

#21- KARL MALONE

“The Mailman” running the outside lane would frighten an opponent in any era.

#20- DAVID ROBINSON

A defensive monster who once dropped 71, to win a scoring title.

#19- GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO

Scoring 50 to close out the Finals was incredible. I remember the 17/19 from the line.

#18- KEVIN GARNETT

KG wouldn’t let his opponent score AFTER the whistle.

#17- NIKOLA JOKIC

Joker has been the best player in the league so long, more winning feels urgent.

#16- OSCAR ROBERTSON

The O.G. of big playmaking guards.

#15- KEVIN DURANT

A 3-level scoring efficiency machine.

#14- JULIUS ERVING

Dr. J was my favorite players, favorite player.

#13- JERRY WEST

This tortured soul has the most points in Finals history.

#12- STEPHEN CURRY

The game’s greatest shooter is a standout mover, dribbler, and passer.

#11- SHAQUILLE O’NEAL

Shaq’s three straight Finals MVPs were supremacy of a different sort.

#10- HAKEEM OLAJUWON

At his apex, the best balance of dominating both ends.

#9- TIM DUNCAN

This model of poise was All-Defense 15 times.

#8- LARRY BIRD

Bird would be better in today’s NBA. Ridiculous swagger.

#7- WILT CHAMBERLAIN

HIs athletic dominance was so off the charts, kids today pretend he didn’t actually exist.

#6- KOBE BRYANT

The most skilled player ever.

#5- MAGIC JOHNSON

The way Earvin played, left us believing his name was Magic.

#4- BILL RUSSELL

The backbone of sport’s most dominant dynasty.

#3- KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

Cap was way more than just an unstoppable shot.

#2- LEBRON JAMES

In a couple of years, I’ll refer to LBJ as “1B.”

#1- MICHAEL JORDAN

Give me one player with my life on the line. I pick MJ with zero hesitation.

Jay C. Brandriet